CHAPTER 77

2025-08-14

Trading wealth for affection is a waste of life.

When my mother was admitted to a nursing home, the resident doctor warned us that her dementia had entered the latter stages and she might not live more than a year. The outcome far exceeded expectations.

She lived there for a full sixty-three weeks. In early March 2023, after being diagnosed with COVID-19, she remained in a coma and passed away five days later at the age of ninety-two. Thirty-one years ago, on the same day of the same month, she arrived in Canada at the age of sixty-one.

Her sons, daughter-in-laws, and grandchildren, who settled in Vancouver, all visited and stayed by her side. My mother passed away peacefully and painlessly, enjoying a life of rest.

Two weeks before my mother passed away, I visited her at the nursing home as usual. Her face, hands, feet, and body were still swollen, a condition often attributed to poor circulation, but her spirits and appetite remained strong. Her room faced south, and beneath her window, she could see a large redevelopment site under construction.

On the windowsill was a small ornament: a newly purchased Japanese fortune cat. It faced the sun and was powered by solar energy. Its right hand with palm up, waved constantly, symbolizing the attraction of wealth. This must have been the younger brother, born in the Year of the Horse, trying to reverse their fortunes. The four brothers had been determined to divert their mother's savings to invest in funds for profit, and had previously reported a 13% loss in a single year.

My mother was unaware of her sons' thoughts and actions, able to rest in peace in the hospital, undisturbed, enjoying a peaceful and comfortable life.

Family affection should be pure and priceless. The moment it is linked to financial gain, it is tainted. In the pursuit of profit, family affection is inevitably neglected and replaced, alienated into a tool for profit, ultimately leaving only market value, and family affection is objectified.

When one returns to heaven is determined by bodily functions and Heavenly Father, not by human will. If the four brothers were to envision returns from different funds, their mother's time of passing would affect their emotions, and the sons' love for their mother would no longer be pure.

My mother toiled and dedicated her entire life to this family, having proper expectations for her family, yet she never sought profit or calculated with her sons. Yet, in her old age, she is treated like a growth tree, and needed enforcement by a lucky cat.

In treating our mother, the four sons are insincere and shallow in love. Due diligence and sense of duty were lacking.

Trading wealth for affection is a waste of life. (End)

(Postscript: In an old Hong Kong entertainment news story, a woman asked a wealthy man to confirm their relationship, give her a price, and stipulate that he would transfer that property to her. The wealthy man asked her to give a price, and she said 500 million. The man agreed, and they went to a law firm to complete the formalities. The agreement stated, "I, XXX, because I love XXX, will transfer 500 million to XXX." In the end, the woman received nothing, losing both her money and the relationship, because the man no longer loved XXX and had no responsibility for paying.)